This page was created on October 25, 2004
This page was last updated on June 5, 2005

—Review by Darrel Manson
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What if you could watch the next great American president grow up? That compelling question is the idea behind a powerful new drama from master storytellers Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Dawson's Creek), Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing, Ally McBeal), Vanessa Taylor (Everwood) and Mickey Liddell (Everwood, Go). The pilot was directed by the incomparable David Nutter (Smallville, Without a Trace).

If "greatness is thrust upon us," as Winston Churchill once said, then it stands to reason that those who are destined for greatness are rarely aware of it. Take Jack (newcomer Matthew Long) and Bobby McCallister (Logan Lerman, The Butterfly Effect) for example: two bright young brothers growing up under the watchful eye of their eccentric single mother Grace McCallister (Christine Lahti, Chicago Hope). Grace's personality is a force of nature destined to shape both of these young men's lives and secure one a place in the history books - as President of the United States.

Set in the fictional town of Hart, Missouri in the present day, the series details the relationship between these brothers and the people who shape their values and personalities, especially their mother. A brilliant college professor with an unconventional parenting style, Grace is struggling to let one son go and understand the other. Although she has no way of knowing she is raising a future president, it would not surprise her to know that her boys are destined for greatness. Jack is the big brother everyone wishes they had. A natural hero and a born leader, he seems to have everything going for him. He's the perfect role model for Bobby, who, with a big heart and a quick intellect, is nonetheless an undeniable social misfit. Bobby is caught between the rival forces of his mother and his brother, and it's impossible to please them both.

The arrival of a new college president and his beautiful daughter impacts the lives of all three McCallisters. In Peter Benedict (John Slattery, Mona Lisa Smile) Grace has met not only her new boss, but an intellectual equal. Peter is a brilliant businessman with a questionable character, and Grace finds herself both attracted and repelled by him. Peter's teenage daughter Courtney (newcomer Jessica Paré) soon strikes up a friendship with Jack and forms a special bond with Bobby. The brothers eventually learn that the brave front Courtney presents to the world hides a painful family secret.

Another pivotal figure in Jack and Bobby's childhood is Jack's best friend Marcus Ride (Edwin Hodge, The Alamo). Son of the owner of J.R., a popular neighborhood gathering spot, Marcus is close to Jack, but their relationship is also highly competitive. Over time, their friendship will be tested repeatedly.

Exploring the idea that what happens today in the life of one child could impact the future of the entire world, upcoming episodes will focus on the events that mold Jack and Bobby's characters and shape their values. While the McCallister's family life in the present day is explored, the audience will also see glimpses of what America may be like 40 or 50 years from now. What kind of President will it take to lead the country in 2040? What kind of world will this man inherit? How will Jack and Bobby McCallister make the journey from Hart, Missouri to Washington D.C. and what will their lives mean to every American?

In an era when political parties are more divided than ever, Jack and Bobby offers a look at a leader who truly unifies. His unlimited hope and optimism earns President McCallister the nickname "The Great Believer." Although the McCallister administration is not without controversy and even scandal, the underlying message is that one individual can still make a difference in the world. Each episode will be themed around some aspect of character. What makes someone inspiring? How valuable is faith or honesty? Is greatness born in a person or is it learned? The story of Jack and Bobby McCallister is the origin tale of a great leader.

With flash-forward interviews of White House staffers and the First Lady, Jack and Bobby is a snapshot of a young man being molded to beat the odds and become this mid-century's greatest Presidential leader.

Created by Greg Berlanti & Vanessa Taylor and Steve Cohen & Brad Meltzer, Jack & Bobby is executive produced by Berlanti, Mickey Liddell and Thomas Schlamme. Taylor and Andrew Ackerman (Everwood) serve as co-executive producers.

Grace McCallister

Award-winning and critically acclaimed stage, screen and television actress Christine Lahti joins The WB as Grace McCallister, a liberal intellectual struggling to let one son go while trying desperately to understand another in the new fall drama Jack & Bobby.

Most recently, Lahti recently starred in the television movie The Book of Ruth, based on the book of the same name, a featured selection on Oprah's Book Club. Other recent credits include The Pilots Wife, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Anita Shreve, which aired in 2002, and the ensemble Showtime feature Women vs. Men, opposite Joe Mantegna. She also starred in the television movie Open House, with Daniel Baldwin and Eva Marie Saint in early 2003, and captivated audiences in Showtime's acclaimed Out Of The Ashes, as Gisella Perl, a Jewish doctor who survived the Holocaust.

In 2000, Lahti took another challenging step in her career by directing her first feature film, My First Mister. The film, which stars Albert Brooks and Leelee Sobieski, was chosen as the opening night presentation at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The poignant dark comedy focuses on the relationship that develops between an engaging older man and a young woman.

In 1995, Lahti won an Academy Award for her direction of the Live Action Short Film Lieberman in Love, in which she also starred. She has also directed several episodes of Chicago Hope, in which she starred for four years as Doctor Kathryn Austin. For her work on Chicago Hope, Lahti was awarded both the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.

As an actress, Lahti's work in motion pictures is equally varied. Her credits include Leaving Normal, directed by Ed Zwick; The Doctor with William Hurt; the romantic comedy Funny About Love; Gross Anatomy and Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty, for which she received the 1988 Los Angeles Film Critic's Award, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She starred in Bill Forsyth's now classic Housekeeping, which was voted one of the Ten Best Films of 1987 by many of America's film critics. She also starred in the films Just Between Friends, Whose Life Is It Anyway? and ...And Justice For All. As Goldie Hawn's best friend in the WWII comedy Swing Shift, directed by Jonathan Demme, Ms. Lahti was honored with the Best Supporting Actress Award from the New York Film Critics' Circle, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

Lahti starred in An American Daughter for Lifetime. Based on the critically acclaimed play by Wendy Wassertein, Lahti portrayed a Surgeon General nominee whose life is thrown into chaos by the sudden political scrutiny foisted upon her. Prior to that, Lahti starred in The Ellie Nessler Story for the USA Network. Based on a true story, Lahti starred as the California mother who gunned down a man during his 1993 trial on charges that he sexually molested her 7-year-old son.

Lahti's varied appearances on television include No Place Like Home, for which she was nominated for an Emmy and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Movie; Amerika, for which she received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations; The Executioner's Song and The Last Tenant, with Lee Strasberg. She starred in the TNT movie Crazy From the Heart, for which she won the Cable Ace Award for Best Actress; The Fear Inside, for Showtime and The Good Fight for the Lifetime Television Network.

A highly esteemed stage actress, Lahti starred in Three Hotels, co-starring with Richard Dreyfuss at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. This presentation was a reprisal of her successful run in the play, which premiered at New York's Circle Rep. Theater. She also received a Drama Desk nomination for her role. Prior to her role in Three Hotels, she was seen on the New York stage as Heidi Hollard in Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Heidi Chronicles.

She received an Obie Award for her performance as Patsy Newquis in the Second Stage revival of Jules Feiffer's Little Murders. Other New York stage credits include Michael Weller's Loose Ends, Noel Coward's Present Laughter, with George C. Scott; successful off-Broadway revivals of John Guare's Landscape of the Body and Clifford Odet's The Country Girl, with Hal Holbrook; David Mamet's The Woods, for which she received a Theater World Award; Ted Tally's Hooters and Steve Tisch's Division Street on Broadway.

Regionally, she has been seen in two Tennessee Williams classics: as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven and as Alma in Summer and Smoke at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. Lahti has also appeared on stage in both New York and Los Angeles in A.R. Gurney's Love Letters. At the Williamstown Theater Festival, she appeared as Josie in Moon for the Misbegotten and in Beth Henley's The Lucky Spot.

Lahti and her husband, filmmaker Thomas Schlamme, reside in Los Angeles with their children.

Jack McCallister

Newcomer Matt Long makes his television debut in The WB's Jack & Bobby as Jack McCallister, a natural leader who seems to have everything going for him.

Born and raised in Winchester, Kentucky, Long always knew he wanted to be an actor. He started acting in school plays in elementary school and continued to do so throughout his college years. After graduating from Western Kentucky University, Long moved to New York to pursue his passion. While performing in a showcase at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts, he was noticed by his current manager and signed on the spot. Within months, he had booked his first commercial, and Jack & Bobby soon followed.

Long currently lives in Los Angeles while filming the series. A big fan of the outdoors, Long enjoys hiking and backpacking when not working.

Bobby McCallister

Logan Lerman makes his television debut as Bobby McCallister, a bright young boy with a big heart who desperately tries to keep the peace between his mother and his older brother in The WB's Jack & Bobby.

Born and raised in Beverly Hills, California, Lerman's desire to act was ignited after seeing a Jackie Chan movie at age 2 1/2. After the movie, he announced to his mother that he was going to be an actor. Shortly after making his decision, Lerman landed an agent at the age of 4 and booked two commercials back-to-back, earning his SAG card in the process.

Lerman made his feature film debut playing William, Mel Gibson's youngest son in The Patriot. His next role was in the feature film Riding in Cars With Boys. His performance caught the attention of the producers of the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie A Painted House, and they cast Lerman in the starring role. Lerman's most recent performance in The Butterfly Effect was critically acclaimed.

When not working, Lerman is an avid soccer and baseball player. When time permits in his busy schedule, Logan plans on taking tennis lessons. When not involved in team sports, Lerman likes to play with his two dogs. Currently, Lerman resides in Beverly Hills with his family.

Courtney Benedict

Jessica Paré stars as Courtney Benedict, the new girl in town who harbors a painful family secret, in The WB's Jack & Bobby.

Born and raised in Montreal, Québec, Paré grew up watching her father on stage and screen and decided to try her hand at the craft. Paré started at workshops in her teens and quickly landed a bit part in a miniseries. She followed that up with an audition for a day player for the film Stardom. Upon seeing her audition, the director offered her the lead role.

Paré also starred in the television miniseries Lives of the Saints, with Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson. The miniseries was set in the 1960s, and Paré played a wild love child. Paré also appeared in the television movie The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton.

Feature film credits include Lost and Delirious, with Mischa Barton and Piper Perabo, Napoleon, Posers, and See This Movie, with John Cho and Seth Myers. Next up for Paré is the feature Wicker Park.

Paré currently lives in Los Angeles with her two cats.

Marcus Ride

After guest appearances in 7th Heaven and Grounded For Life, Edwin Hodge returns to The WB in Jack & Bobby as Jack's best friend Marcus Ride, whose natural competitiveness puts his friendship with Jack to the test time and time again.

Born and raised on a military base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Hodge moved to New York with his family when he was 3 years old. At age 9, Hodge attended a cattle call for what he thought was an audition for a commercial. Winning over the casting directors with his athletic ability and energy, Hodge was surprised when they announced he was cast in the Tony Award-winning revival of Showboat on Broadway.

Heading out to Los Angeles to continue his acting career, Hodge quickly landed a role in the Showtime film, My Teacher Ate My Homework, for which he received the Young Artist Award. Next up was a role as a young Marvin Gaye in The Marvin Gaye Story. Other television credits include guest appearances on Beyond Belief, Noah Knows Best, Any Day Now and King of Queens. He also had a recurring role on Boston Public for two years, playing a disturbed student who ended up getting convicted of a crime in order to protect his brother.

Peter Benedict

Veteran actor John Slattery joins The WB as Peter Benedict, a brilliant businessman with questionable character, who both infuriates and flusters Grace McCallister (Christine Lahti) on the new drama Jack & Bobby.

Slattery most recently appeared in Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile and the HBO series K Street, produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. Other feature credits include Bad Company, with Anthony Hopkins, last year's Sundance Award-winner The Station Agent, Mirimax Films' Havana Nights, Soderbergh's Traffic, Sleepers, City Hall and Eraser.

Slattery's memorable television appearances include Sex and the City, From The Earth To The Moon, Will & Grace, Masterpiece Theatre's A Death in the Family and Ed. He is currently filming the A&E television movie The Brooke Ellison Story, directed by Christopher Reeve.

Slattery's last Broadway appearance was the revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, opposite Juliet Binoche. He made his Broadway debut opposite Nathan Lane in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His off-Broadway credits include The Extra Man, Night and Her Stars and Three Days of Rain, by Tony Award-winner Richard Greenberg.

Slattery currently resides in New York City.

Missy

Born in Derry, New Hampshire, and the youngest of three children, Pratt began her career as a dancer. She studied ballet and jazz at the Hamstead Dance Academy.

After graduating high school, Pratt entered New York University to study business and continued to dance at the renowned Broadway Dance Center. Â Pratt landed her first acting job on the feature film Drive Me Crazy. Â She then moved to Los Angeles and landed roles in Cruel Intentions 2, The Smokers starring Oliver Hudson, Busy Phillips and Domnique Swain. Â She also starred as Christopher Walken's daughter in America's Sweethearts and soon can be seen in the Fox feature Fat Albert.

Pratt's television credits include appearances on Joan of Arcadia, Nip/Tuck, Boston Public, C.S.I:  Crime Scene Investigation, That '70's Show, ER, and The WB's 7th Heaven, Maybe It's Me and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She also starred as Veronica Ridgeway, the young spoiled daughter of the Ridgeway family on the WB's The Help.

In her free time, Pratt continues her ballet studies and enjoys snowboarding and jet-skiing.

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